Wendip Week 2018
by fereality
Summary: It's time again for Wendip week. This year I am using the prompts to flesh out the backstory behind The Kids Are All Right. The prompts are as follows; School, Typical Pines Luck, Combat, Date Night, Flirting, Moving In With Each Other, and Bedtime Story.
1. School

Tuesday September 2, 2014

It had taken a couple of years but we had done it. Mabel and I are finally full time residents of Gravity Falls. Of course we have been bugging our parents that they need to come up and visit us during our yearly summer trips. This year they came up for a two week stay before our birthday and dad fell in love with the small town feel. After mom found out that Northwest Medical (Pacifica says it is one of the few things she is proud her family did) was looking for a new head RN as Nurse Brooks was retiring. Deciding that that was a sign, the two began looking for a house. For now we are staying in the former servant's cottage on the former Northwest estates with Fiddleford's blessing.

And here we are, sophomores at Gravity Falls High School. It won't be too bad, most of our friends are here. Candy is a freshman, Grenda and Pacifica are sophomores like us, and Nate, Lee, Tambry, and Wendy are seniors. Thompson and Robbie graduated last year. Thompson is taking some business classes at the community college the next town over and Robbie…

About a month ago Wendy got a call at the Shack asking if she had seen Robbie. Apparently Tambry had told him that they were gonna be parents. At first he didn't take it well believing that they were too young and he rushed out leaving her at his house with his parents. It wasn't five minutes after telling her that she hadn't heard from him that Nate and Lee called asking if she could met them at the Dusk2Dawn lot. Mabel volunteered to watch the counter for her and I ended up riding out with her.

Wendy told me what was up on the way to the meet. Since it was really a private matter between old friends, I stayed in Wendy's truck while they talked. Occasionally I would hear a loud utterance like 'not ready' and 'you love her right?' and at least once it looked as if he was gonna lunge at Wendy. Even with Nate, Lee, and Thompson were there I nearly rushed out of the truck. I know she can handle herself and well it was just Robbie, but I would've rather take a hit from him than let him touch her. But I had no need to worry. He wasn't attacking her, he was hugging her. Later she told me that she had just told him that he thought he would make an adequate dad. That was how much he still valued her opinion.

It wasn't too much later that Thompson, Nate, and Lee had to head out. Thompson, as the manager of the theater, had hired Nate and they both were about to be late to work. Lee had a date that he offered to call off if Robbie needed him, but Robbie said he didn't want him to as he knew how long it took him to set up the date. They all stopped by and said bye as they left. Robbie stopped by to thank me for coming to support him and for understanding it was something the 'Gang' needed to deal with, I told him it was no problem and if they needed any help while I was in town to just let me know. He smiled his smirk like grin and said he would remember that when they need a babysitter.

He never got the chance to ask. We had been back at the Shack for about half hour or so when we got the call from Tambry asking for us to come to the hospital. Apparently Robbie had stopped to buy Tambry some flowers as an apology. Unfortunately as he pulled away from the florist, his van was t-boned by a car heading home from the Fractured Skull. The doctor said he didn't make it to surgery and the driver of the other car was killed on impact.

It was then I reaffirmed my decision that life was too short. I ended up spending as much time as I could with either Mabel or Wendy. The two most important women in my life. At first it shocked our parents at how much time I spent with them but I think Stan may have told them about what happened. Soon it seemed as if that they had accepted Wendy as part of the Gravity Falls package. At one point dad pulled me to the side and asked 'So is this the one your sister is always teasing you about?'.

The principal offered to let Tambry take time off to grieve and to have her baby, but she apparently only needs three credits to graduate and she wants to get them done so she can graduate with her friends whether the baby is here or not.

So there she was on stage with principal and a few other faculty members as they turned the first day of the new school year into an assembly. They talked about the dangers of drinking and driving, had a memorial for Robbie as an Honored Alumnus, introduced the freshmen, and finally introduced Mabel & I as transfer students to the assembled students. Seeing how it was a half day they dismissed everyone by grades starting with the seniors, with everyone picking up a copy of their schedule as they left incase they didn't receive the one in the mail. The plan was as soon as we were done the whole group was gonna head over to Yumberjacks for burger and fries. As Mabel and I got our schedules we heard our names called, turning we saw it was Principal Reeves.

After we walked over he shook Mabel's hand as he started speaking, "Hello Mabel, and you must be Mason, I mean Dipper."

At that he turned and shook my hand before continuing, "I would like to welcome you personally to our school, I've heard such great things from your great uncle. Now normally I wouldn't believe a word that old shyster said, but I have seen both of your transcripts."

"And just where do you get off calling our Grunkle a shyster?" Mabel asked, getting defensive over her second favorite (at least I hope) family member.

"No need to get into a huff, my dear. I reckon I've known your, 'Grunkle' was it, for longer than you've been alive. Though for most of that I thought he was Stanford Pines and not Stanley. You play cards with a guy twice a month for nearly twenty-five years and you'd think you would know someone." Principal Reeves said. When he saw the look of confusion on our faces he pointed to a small lapel pin on his jacket. It was a maroon trapezoid with a familiar looking yellow fish (?) in he middle of it. "We're both members of the Order of the Holy Mackerel."

Apparently he thought it warranted more explanation, "We're a fraternal organization along the lines of the Knights of Columbus or the Shriners. But enough about that, I called you two over to talk about tomorrow. Most of the incoming students were able to come in during registration and get a basic idea of where their classes, but since you two were late comers I have arrange for you to have guides for the first couple of days."

"You didn't need to do that…" I started before Mabel slapped her hand over my mouth.

"Speak for yourself, broseph. I'm always up for some help. Maybe it'll even be the start of a new friendship." Mabel said as she removed her hand.

"Actually from what I am to understand, these two are people you already know." Principal Reeves said as he raised his hand and waved for someone to come over, "Actually one of them credits you Mr. Pines as one of the reasons she has turned her academic aptitude around."

I felt a familiar hand grab my shoulder. I turned and saw it was Wendy. Being eyeball level with her chin, I'm finally catching up to her height wise.

"Paz!", Mabel called out as she turned and saw who her guide was. She quickly pulled her into a hug.

"You ready to learn the ins and outs of the school, Dip?" Wendy said with a smile that brightened up the whole school.

"If you're leading…" I thought before I realized I was actually saying it. I had gotten better at that but there are times that she still draws out my innermost thoughts. She had a small smirk that told me that she had heard me as I said, "I mean, yeah. With your help I'll have this place figured out in no time."

"Well since this all seems to be in order I'll see you all tomorrow." Principal Reeves said clapping his hands together.

We stood there for a little bit while Mabel and Pacifica seemed to be comparing schedules. (I actually lost track of time just being there with Wendy) before my stomach told me I had rushed out without eating breakfast with a loud growl. This got a chuckle from Wendy and broke the girls out of whatever discussion they seemed to be having.

"Did someone anger a gnome?" Pacifica asked with a chuckle. Mabel joined her in the laughter.

"Yeah, yeah. Cut the guy some slack, we were supposed to be at Yumberjacks by now. Come on the gang is probably waiting on us." Wendy chastised the girls before she put her arm around my shoulder as we walked off.


	2. Typical Pines Luck

Gravity Falls High School

Friday October 10th, 2014

Man, the first couple of weeks here at Gravity Falls High have been fun. I've been able to spend a good amount of time with Wendy and the gang. I've got homeroom (English Lit) and lunch with Mabel, Biology with Wendy and Candy, Creative Writing with Pacifica, Lee, and Tambry, French with Wendy and Grenda, Calc 2 with Wendy and Tambry, and Cooking with Grenda. Wendy, Nate, and Pacifica are in the same lunch as Mabel and I. That leaves me with one class where I really don't know anyone, Conditioning. Being on the track team I felt I needed to take a athletics class to keep my stamina up during the off season.

The only down side is I seem to have attracted to attention of Allan Weems, one of the muscle heads who plays tackle for the Gravity Falls Grizzlies. At six foot two and approximately three hundred pounds of muscle, his size really is all he has going for him. The nose ring he wears outside of football games only adds to the reason he's nicknamed Bull, mostly he has it cause he's about as bright as one. He's not an actual Gravity Falls resident, he comes from one of the little towns that are still in the county but lay just outside the valley. Hirschburg or Ritterton maybe.

"Alright guys, you have ten minutes till the bell. Get in there and get clean. I don't want any complaints from the other teachers." Coach Doherty said after he blew his whistle to signal the end of the class.

I stayed back as the rest of the guys headed into the locker. After I was certain that everyone should be mostly in the showers I head in and quickly get out of my gym clothes. Wrapping my self in my towel I head to the shower stalls and grab the first empty one. When I was done I dried off and rushed out to get dressed. Unfortunately Allan was waiting on me. Even worse, we were the last ones in the locker room.

"So Dipwad, how's my favorite tackling dummy?" he asked as he held something behind his back, as I got closer I realized it was my gym shirt and he had wrapped it tightly around his fist, "You know what, I really don't care."

Before I knew what was happening he stepped close and punched me twice in the stomach. As I gasped for air he dropped my shirt over my head and started walking away.

When he got to the door he looked back and said "Well this was fun, let's do it again tomorrow."

After catching my breath, I got dressed just as the bell sounded. Walking out of the locker I found Coach Doherty waiting on me.

"You ok, Pines? Mr. Weems told me as he left that he thought he heard you trip on something as he left the locker room." He asked as h saw me exit.

Just my luck, Allan gave the Coach an explanation for why I took so long. Not really wanting to press the issue I said, "Eh, I just stubbed my toe is all Coach."

"Well I hope you didn't break it. From everything I've seen so for I'm looking forward to seeing you on the track this year." He said as I headed towards the door.

I stopped at my locker and traded out my morning books for the ones I'll need after lunch.

"Hey broseph, ready for the Friday meatloaf?" Mabel asks as she opened her locker. She had art the period before and still had some paint on the back of her hand.

"I guess, it can't be any worse than Stan's mystery meat surprise." I replied still holding my sore stomach.

We got our food and headed towards the table that Nate had grabbed. We were the last ones there as Wendy and Pacifica were already eating.

As Mabel sat down she turned to Pacifica and said, "Oh man, Paz. Did you hear what happened today in the Candy's gym class? Apparently there was a big fight between two of her classmates."

"Yeah, I heard. Apparently Jimmy Holman found out that Marion Albert, his girlfriend, was seeing Aaron Holtz on the side. He just walked up to Aaron and punched him, ended up taking half the class to separate them. Someone said it looked like Aaron's nose looked broken." Pacifica said as she sort of picked through the food on her tray. She's told me that she no longer cared about her food meeting a four star rating but she still was leery of school cafeteria food. Welcome to the club princess.

"That's what Candy said too. Though she said it looked like Aaron actually threw the first punch." Mabel said around a spoonful of mashed potatoes.

"Eh, either way they both got suspended." Pacifica said just before it seems like hunger won out and she took a bite of the meatloaf.

That there was one of the reasons I just took the punches earlier and didn't fight back. Heck. He didn't hit anywhere near as bad as Rumble, so there's that also. But there is a reason that is even more important to me.

"God, I hate it when guys fight like that." Wendy said after she swallowed her bite of meatloaf. "This could have easily been handled by talking. And they're fighting each other and are either wondering what her opinion of the situation is, I mean maybe she didn't think they were exclusive."

And there is the most important reason I didn't fight back. Wendy dislikes guys fighting. And after we lost Robbie, I realized just how short life can be and I decided I would follow my own advice from a couple of years ago and strive to be someone worthy of her love. That doesn't mean I'm changing anything about me, it just means that I'm gonna improve the me that I already am. Oh shoot, Mabel is talking to me.

"Huh?" was all I was able to get out as a response.

"I asked if you were gonna finish that?" Mabel said pointing towards my less than half eaten tray and more specifically the chocolate pudding.

"Oh, yeah. Here you go, take what you want." I say as I slide the tray over to her.

"Hey Dip, you still coming over to work on Calc and Biology homework?" Wendy asked after Mabel snagged the last half of my meatloaf and the pudding.

"Sure, I've even got The Monster Of The Cape to bring over to watch if we have time afterwards." I say with a smile.

"Sweet. We'll have to rush through the homework then." Wendy says with a smirk.

The rest of the day went by like normal and soon Mabel and I were back at the house dad found on the outskirts of downtown. I took a moment to look over Mabel's homework while she got ready for a night with the gals. Pacifica, Candy, Grenda, and surprisingly Tambry are all gonna be there. I think Mabel is wanting to plan the baby shower.

After I was done, her work was on par for her which means she'll get a b plus at least, I grabbed my bag, the DVD, and a microwave burrito. I was just heading to the front door when my phone went off.

"Hey there." I said as I heard Wendy's voice on the other end, "Yeah, I was just heading out. You're where?"

I heard a knock echo through the phone and from the front door. When I opened the door there she stood.

"Well since you're ready I may as well come pick you up." She said as a greeting.

"I was gonna walk, but a ride with my best friend does sound great." I said as I walked out the door. Once I was out I noticed something, her truck wasn't there. Turning to her I asked, "Ok, if you're giving me a ride where's your truck."

"It never really was mine, Dad was just letting me use it. Marcus just got his license so dad is letting him use it now." Wendy said as she shut the door and started heading towards the street.

"Ok, if you don't have the truck how are we getting to your house?" I asked looking around as I followed her, thinking that maybe she had borrowed the Mystery cart from Soos or something.

"Well you see, when I got home Uncle Randy and his son Seth were there. At first I was afraid they were there cause dad was making plans to send me up to the logging camp next summer. But no, they were there to give me an early birthday and graduation present." She said as we got to the sidewalk. We headed past our driveway when we stopped in front of a charcoal grey van. "Here she is, a seventy-nine WV Uberkreuzung Microbus. It was my Grandpa's, then Randy's, and now its mine."

"Cool," I said as she unlocked the door. I hopped in as she ran around to the driver's side. I unlocked her door for her and she climbed on in.

"We need to stop and grab some snacks but then back to my place to study." Wendy said as she turned the key.

We sopped at the store and picked up a couple bags of chips, a bag of puffed corn, and a case of Pitt. After that it was a quick drive and we made it back to her place. The homework was done in less than ten minutes and that was with me going over the definitions of an infinite series and partial sums twice to make sure she got them. But really the homework is just an excuse we use to hang out anyways. We then cracked open the snacks and tossed the DVD into her player. She then plopped down on her stomach while I leaned back on a backrest pillow I had bought and left here last year just for movie nights. Grabbing a handful of puffcorn settled in for a marathon of jokes about the quality (or lack of it) of the special effects.

"Ok, that suit doesn't even have matching seams. I meant look you can see the actors neck right there." she called out as the 'monster' chase a hapless co-ed through a dock of fishing boats.

"Ok, there are several potential weapons on those boats. I mean I see a spear gun laying on the deck of that one. Why don't she go for one. Or maybe even just get on one of the boats and hide in it's cabin." I added after I had taken a swig of Pitt.

"They probably didn't get permission from any of the boat owners. Hell I would be surprised that they permission to even film on the dock." She said as she playfully swatted my stomach. Unfortunately I was still tender and I winced at the contact. Now Wendy is definitely no dummy and noticed something was wrong. "You ok, Dip? I barely touched you there."

"Oh, it's nothing." I said as I tried to play it off. I did not want her worrying about me getting into a fight or worse her getting in trouble fighting him in my place.

"Dip. We've been friends for a couple of years now, I know when you're lying man." She said as propped herself up with her right arm before sitting to look at me better. "And if it's something that you feel like you have to lie to me, then I know it's gotta be something big. You don't lie to me. So what is it?"

"It's nothing." I said as I tried to withdraw from her gaze.

Not buying it she said, "Nope, something is wrong. Luckily for me I have learned of a weakness in your armor from Mabel for just this occasion."

Before I knew what was happening she was on me and began tickling me. She started under my arms but quickly worked down my sides. I started laughing and as my diaphragm contracted during a particularly loud laugh I again grimaced.

Seeing that she grabbed the edge of my shirt and lifted it. I hadn't seen it myself yet, it looked like him wrapping his hand didn't do much towards preventing a bruise from forming.

"Dude, what the hell?" She yelled as she got a good look at it. "Who did this? Tell me and I'll beat the crap out of them!"

"That's why I was hiding it, I don't want you getting in trouble on account of me. Principal Reeves has been doing nothing but praising the turnaround you have made in the last couple of years and I don't want to ruin that on my account." I said as I tried to pull my shirt back down to cover it back up.

She let go of my shirt and sat back up, pulled her legs under her, and then leaned against the wall behind her. When was done she asked, "Please tell me you at least gave it to them as good as you got?"

"No," I said not looking her in the face.

"Wait a minute." Was her response. She followed up with, "What? Why?"

"Don't worry about it. I'm fine" I said almost feeling like I was twelve again.

"Nope, I'm gonna worry about you man." She said with a look of genuine concern, "Now why didn't you fight back? Whoever did this couldn't be worse than those two gnomes that found the growth crystals back in June. We kicked their tails."

I mumbled something barely audible.

"What was that?" she asked as she leaned closer to me.

"You don't like guys fighting." I repeated at a volume that she could hear.

I started to get up before I felt her hand on my shoulder. She pulled me back down and turned me so I was facing her in one turn. "Yeah, I hate guys fighting for stupid reasons. Defending yourself is never a stupid reason."

She pulled me into a hug, "Dude, I want you to be safe. But next time this guy does something, defend yourself. I mean why else was Stan giving you and Mabel boxing lessons."

As I pulled back I got lost in her eyes again, they were so full of worry for me. A part of me wondered if there was something else there too.

"I will." I finally said as I realized how long I had been staring turning my head I saw that the movie was over. Looking down at my watch I said, "Man, I gotta get going. Mom and Dad want me home for dinner. Tell you what, keep the DVD here and we can watch it next time."

I leaned forward and gave her another hug.

When I let go Wendy said, "Do you really have to go. I was hoping we could get in another movie at least."

"Yeah, unfortunately the rents aren't as forgiving as Stan is for coming home late." I said as I gathered up my school books.

"You want a ride back?" she asked as she slid off the front of her bed and turned off her tv.

"Yeah, thanks." I replied as I zipped up my backpack. "You're working tomorrow, right?"

"Sure, maybe we can hang after work tomorrow." She said as we headed out of room.

Mystery Shack

Saturday October 11th, 2014

Well today has mostly been about organizing displays and placing some in mothballs till next spring. Soos did take one group out on a tour and should be back sometime soon, but really the season is over. I mean we may get some to come through for Halloween, but this is Oregon tourist season is over.

I was dusting some souvenirs when I felt a large hand on my shoulder and heard a voice I was not wanting to hear, "Why Dipwad, what a pleasant surprise."

He roughly turned me around and pushed me up against the shelves. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Wendy look like she was about to jump the counter. I waved her off just as he continued, "Well I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. I mean a freak like you must fit right in with all of this junk."

"Now you can call me names, but you best not insult the Shack." I said as I for once push him back.

It doesn't move him much but it does seem to phase him. It seemed to crack his veneer of superiority, but he seemed to recover his bravado quickly. Glaring down at me he said, "Whatchu gonna do about it. The only good things in this pig sty is red over there and that cute lil sister of yours. Where did she go anyways, she was here when I got here. "

"That's it. Step outside." I say as I once again pushed him. This time it moved him enough that I was able to start heading towards the door. Wendy was staring daggers at him as I neared. In a whisper I ask, "Is he coming?"

"On your six, but he just started moving." she responded her gaze softening as she turned it towards me. "Is he the one?"

"Yeah. There's gonna be a fight, I'm not sure you're gonna want to see this." I said as I reached the door.

She pulled a 'closed for break' sign out from under the counter and set it in front of the register. "I'm not gonna miss this."

I found out later that she had pulled out her phone and sent a group text to Mabel, Soos, and the rest of the gang that read 'Dipper about to confront a bully outside of Shack, fight probable'.

As I made it outside I headed towards the grassy area south of the parking lot. Mabel was running out from behind the Shack carrying a stack of signs, the visible one read 'Round One'. She made it over to where I was about the time Bull got out of the front door. He was followed shortly by Wendy.

"So you're fighting Bull. Man, what an idiot." Mabel said as she saw who I was looking at. Realizing that what she said could have sounded like she was calling me the idiot, she clarified "Not you, him. It takes him forever to get something through his thick skull. He most have asked me out at least twice a week since school started and I've turned him down every time."

"Oh there she is." Bull said as he realized Mabel had joined me, "Hey there cutie. How about after I beat the snot out of your brother, you n me go to Hermanos Brothers for a tray of tacos?"

"Kick him where the sun don't shine, broseph." Mabel said as she backed away and headed towards Wendy.

About that time Soos showed up with his tour group. I recognized three other members of the football team and a guy that looked like he could be Bull's dad.

"This him?" I heard the older guy ask.

"Yep, he's my project this year. He's got all the basics; weird name, class geek, smaller than me, crush on a girl out of his league, you know the works." Bull said as he looked at his dad. And with that what hope I had that his dad would help out faded. At least it looked like he had shocked and maybe disgusted his fellow team members, "He's a push over. He hasn't even complained yet."

"Then why is he fighting you now?" I heard his dad ask.

"Oh, he's just trying to show off for Red there." Bull said throwing his thumb in Wendy's direction. It was a good thing that Mabel was there to hold Wendy back or I may not even got a chance to have this fight.

"Well he at least has some good taste." Bull's dad said as he took a look at Wendy, "And if looks could kill, you'd be dead son. I wonder if he isn't reaching to far there. You ever try for her?"

"Oh hell no dad, she's a Corduroy. The whole family plays with axes like they were toys. That's a crazy I'm not touching. She's the one that dislocated Lorenzo's shoulder last year when he tried to cop a feel." Bull said as he grimaced remembering the incident, "Now Dipwad here won't last five minutes. He's a wuss."

"You're right, he isn't much to look at. We'll see how he is doing after this fight, maybe we can use him as a janitor at the farm." His dad said almost pushing bull towards me. "Enough talking, go get him."

As he got closer I held my hands up and said, "Before we start I have to warn you I have a purple belt…"

Before I could finish he rushed at me yelling, "I don't care, we're here to fight not talk fashion."

I side stepped him and brought my hand down across the back of his head, smacking him. This did nothing more than anger him, good an angry opponent is a sloppy opponent.

We threw punches back and forth for a moment. I did my best to remember what my teachers' taught me and kept my guard up to deflect most of his blows, all the while ensuring I landed mine. He still got me a couple times and I am gonna be sore tomorrow. Finally I got an opening. He threw a wild punch that I deflected, as soon as I did I brought my right knee up straight into his gut. After that connected, as he went backwards I snapped my right foot out and connected to his jaw. He fell flat.

"Do you give?" I asked as he went to get up.

There was still fire in his eyes as he stood. He rushed towards me with murderous intent. I reached out and grabbed his collar, put my left foot into his stomach, and rolled backwards flipping him in the process. I gained my footing first and as he tried to rise I brought my left foot down on the back of his head knocking him flat. When he didn't try to rise again I reached down and felt for a breath and checked his pulse.

"You lil son of a…" His dad yelled as he tried to get to me, only to be stopped by the other members of his sons football team.

"Just grab Allan and go Mr. Weems," said the one I now remember is named Frank, I think he's in French with me. "And tell Allan not to bother showing up at the game tomorrow. We're gonna report that he admitted to the bullying to Coach. He has a zero tolerance policy."

"And we'll just deny it, it'll be your word against ours." Mr. Weems said as he started towards his son.

"Probably not dood, I've got like the whole thing recorded on my phone. Including everything you and sleeping beauty said." Soos called from where he was standing with his phone aimed at Mr. Weems.

Wendy and Mabel rushed over to me as Mr. Weems gathered his son as he came to and got him to their truck.

"That was great man, I knew you had it in you." Wendy said as they both hugged me.

"Way to go bro, glad to see the classes finally are paying off." Mabel added.

"Alright, not so tight you two." I said as I winced from how sore I was now that the fight was over.

Wendy remembered my bruised midsection and released quickly before asking Mabel, "Classes? I wouldn't really call those boxing lessons Stan gave you and Dipper classes."

"Not those, but Dip did use some of those techniques today. I'm talking our kickboxing classes. We've been going since we were ten, but Dip here didn't take them serious until we got back from that first summer. That's why he only has his purple belt, I've got my brown belt." Mabel replied as she backed off and got into a fighting stance.

"Oh, so that's what you were trying to tell him." Wendy said as she brought her arm up and settled it down on my shoulder. "I thought you were just trying to confuse him."

"It wasn't my intention but it did seem to work out that way." I said as I try to head towards the Shack, the next thing he knows he is being hoisted up on a uneven pair of shoulders as Wendy and Soos carry him towards the Shack. It seemed Mabel was already sharing the video Soos had taken with the rest of the gang who hadn't made it to the fight. I wouldn't be surprised if I hear from the Stans before the Weekend is over about it, too.

"Thanks guys but really, I'm good. I just want to get some ice on my lip and jaw and, if it's alright with you Soos, find somewhere to collapse. The adrenaline is wearing off and I am sore." I said as we got to the porch.

As they sat me down on my feet Soos said, "Oh, sure dood. Go ahead and take the rest of the day off. You've earned it."

After a look from Melody, which carried some sort of mental message that married people seem able to do (I'll have to investigate that later), Soos added "Hey Wendy, you have the most knowledge out of us when it comes to first aid, why don't you take the rest of the day off too and take care of the Dipster."

"Oh yeah, Wends. I'll cover for you if needed." I heard come back from wherever Mabel was at.

"You don't have to tell me twice. Sit right here and rest Dip, I'll go grab the ice and then we can go back to my place and try to watch that movie again." Wendy said as she help me to the chair Soos had placed by the gift shop's entrance. Then she ran on into the shack.

"You can thank me and Melody later dawg." Soos said before he and Melody entered the Shack. And believe me I did.


	3. Combat

Friday October 17th, 2014

It's been a week since the fight at the Shack and it was a fun week at that. First off Wendy and I did make it through the whole movie this time. Wendy did a great job fixing me up, she even had me take off my shirt and took a better look at the bruise Bull had left Friday. Though it was getting better she went ahead and iced it after she was sure there didn't seem to be anything broken or swollen. Though I did have fun a couple of places, just cause it was so horribly made that it was funny.

Once I got home the first thing that happened was Mom asking me why I hadn't told anyone about the bullying, to which I explained that I had wanted to try and work through it myself and that no this fight was not how I had wanted to work it out but it happened. Dad seemed to be happy that I stood up for myself, and mom was glad that I had been paying attention in our Kickboxing classes. Next mom started going through and checking out the first aid work Wendy had done and decided that she approved of her work. I didn't tell them that I was shirtless for almost the whole time I was with Wendy.

Sunday evening Mabel went to the game cause one of her new friends is a cheerleader. When she got home she told me that Frank and the rest of the guys from the football team followed through on their promise and that the Coach pulled Bull from the team. They meant what they said about the Coach having a zero tolerance policy towards bullying, apparently he had a niece that had entered a severe case of depression due to bullying. On Monday I learned that not only did Bull not come to school, but the Coach had changed his schedule so that we didn't have conditioning together anymore. It didn't seem like anyone was blaming me for his removal but Wendy or one of the other's walked to class with me most of the week, mostly it was Wendy though

On Tuesday though it seemed that Bull was back at school. Even though we no longer had class together we apparently still had lunch at the same time. I never really had noticed him there before, but on that day I had barely sat down before he walked up to the table I was at and tried to make a scene. He had barely go my name out before he was interrupted by Wendy. She reminded him that he had called her 'a crazy he wasn't touching' and if he didn't leave me alone she would show him just how right he was in thinking that. He tried to talk to Mabel, but she just grabbed Pacifica's hand for support and asked him why he thought she would even think of talking to him after he had been bullying me. He started to reach for her and I just stood up. Surprisingly that made him jump back almost a foot. I guess he was realizing that you really can't bully someone who was willing to stand up to you.

Wendy kept driving me and Mabel home after school the rest of the week. Nearly every day Mabel tried to claim shotgun but Wendy would tell her either that I had called it earlier or that I had earned it through something I had done during the day. She would come it long enough to check that my bruises and other injuries were getting better. The swelling in my lip was pretty much gone by Tuesday and the bruise on my stomach had faded by then also. She still checked daily till Thursday, when both her and mom both declared me in tip top shape. We also would help each other with homework before she would have to rush home to fix dinner for her dad and brothers.

And today we planned our normal homework/movie session at her house with one difference, apparently her Dad had asked her to see if I wanted to join them for dinner. She's still out in the Microbus while I ran in, dropped off the stuff I didn't need, and grabbed the movie and some snacks I bought when we went grocery shopping this week.

As I came back downstairs I saw dad was in the living room. My feet had just hit the ground when he said, "You ready for your date with your girlfriend, kiddo?"

"Dad, please. We've been over this, she's just a friend and this is not a date." I replied as I felt the heat rush to my face.

"I dunno kiddo, I mean the two of you are together pretty much all the time. And you have a weekly standing movie night." Dad said as he looked over from his recliner. "And do I smell fresh deodorant?"

"Dad!" I called out at him.

"Hey, I call them like I see them. And I have seen how you look at her when you think she's not paying attention." Dad said with a wink.

"Ok, so yeah I do have some feelings for her. But we decided that first summer that I'm too young for her, Besides that, I'm happy to just be friends." I said as I opened the door and headed out.

"Well that may be, but I've also seen how she looks at you." I heard Dad say as I was closing the door.

I stood there for a moment trying to decide about going back in and asking him what he meant, when I heard the Microbus's horn blast and Wendy calling "Com'on Dip, hurry up. If we wanna have time to watch one of the movies before it's time to eat, we need to get going."

I head on as I decide I can always ask him later. I climb into the van and drop my bag onto floor behind me as we head away. We laughed and joked around the whole trip to her house, but in the back of my mind I had what dad had said floating around. The homework was actually already done. Mabel had ran late for some reason and so we did it while we waited on her. So once we got to her house we dived straight into the first movie 'Squids From Neptune'.

"Oh man, look at those wires. I mean how did they expect people to actually believe those were real, let alone to be scared of them?" Wendy said from where she sat leaning against the wall with her legs stretched out across mine, before she popped a Cheeze Pretzel Log into her mouth.

"I know. And those space ships, how did they think they could spray paint some fish bowls and we wouldn't notice. And that cop trying to fight the one squid with his nightstick when his gun had no effect, crazy." I added as I laughed at the absurdity of the movie.

I saw Wendy get thoughtful for a second, as if she was trying to decide if she was gonna do something. Finally she said, "You know something else that's crazy, that my best friend never decided to tell me that he was able to kick butt on his own now."

I coughed as the Pitt I had just taken a sip of tried to go down the wrong passage. Once I could speak I said "You've been looking for an opening for that one, haven't you."

"Eh, maybe." she said with a smirk. She shifted around from how she was seated, pulled her legs under her, leaned forward, and continued "Com'on man, you gotta tell me why you've been holding out."

I was still processing what she was asking when I realized how close she had actually gotten. My mind instantly shot back to what I had heard dad say earlier. But no, she's just a friend. We're just friends.

Clearing my head I said, "Really I never thought about it. You were always there to have my back and take care of the physical aspects of our adventures. I mean I'm the brains and you're the brawn."

Her face scrunched up and she suddenly backed away, "Really, Dip. Is that how you think of me? I'm just the muscle?"

Fearing that I said the wrong thing I quickly tried to correct the mistake. "No, no, no Oh man, Wendy. I didn't mean it like that. You know you mean so much more than that to me. You're my friend, heck my best fiend. And you know that I still lo…ike spending time with you."

Suddenly she starting smiling and then broke into a small laughing fit. "Man, you are too easy sometimes, Dip. I know how you feel. I just felt like bustin your chops some. But now that I know you can handle yourself some out there, don't expect me to be saving your cute butt all the time."

I sat there for a moment shamed at how easy she had baited me there before I processed what I thought I had heard. "Wait a minute, what was that last part?"

"I said don't expect me to be saving you all the time now." She was looking towards the TV as she said it. As she turned back I thought I saw some extra pink in her cheeks. "Tell you what, we still have some time before dinner. There is a clearing out behind the house that dad uses to keep the boys prepared for survival training We can head out there and you can pull your best McSkirmish impression."

"I can't, our sensei taught us that showing off for showing off's sake is dishonorable." I said as I turned away from her. While it was true, I really didn't follow it for that reason. Back in Piedmont I never liked attracting attention to myself. I faded into the background so I wouldn't attract bullies. Though really that reason doesn't fly in Gravity Falls. The Zodiac members (and us Pines in particular) are considered heroes and nearly everyone knows us. "Besides that, Rumble practices Karate not Kickboxing."

"Ok, you got me there." Wendy said with a smirk. Then she got serious, "Man, I really want to see your fighting style. There's got to be a way. Wait, I know. We can spar."

"What? No!" I stood up as I protested what she wanted to do.

"Aw com'on man. I need to know whether or not that I need to keep protecting you." She said as she too got up off of the bed. She came around and put her arm around my shoulder and said, "Tell you what, we'll do best two out of three rounds."

"I dunno," I said as I felt my resolve soften.

"Ok, how about we sweeten the pot. The winner get's one request from the loser, no questions asked." Her eyes held a mischievous glint. I'm felt myself getting pulled into those beautiful green pools. "And to tell you the truth I think I know what I'm gonna ask for."

If I do this and lose it may mean that I'll have to do another Lamby Dance or something just as embarrassing, but if I win I'll have a favor to call in later. I could even… nah I wouldn't do that. "Alright, you've talked me into it."

She pulled me into a hug before she turned and headed out of her room. I followed her out of her room. It was till in the sixties so I decided not to worry about my jacket. Her brothers were still out and apparently gone for the night, but her dad was down in the kitchen.

"Dad we're heading out to the circle to do some training, let us know when it's time to eat." Wendy called as we headed through the kitchen.

"ALRIGHT HONEY, TRY TO MAKE SURE YOU DON'T BREAK HIM." Dan bellowed in his normal tone. "I'VE GOT VENISION STEAKS MARINATING AND I DON'T WANT TO WASTE ONE."

"Sure thing dad," Wendy chuckled as she headed out the back door.

I followed her on out. We headed down a path for about a hundred yards before we came to a circular clearing approximately thirty feet in diameter. It was a little larger than I'm used to sparing in, but I should be able to adjust to it. She stopped me about five feet into the circle and then crossed over and stood almost perfectly opposite me in position. She reached behind her back and pulled out her nearly ever-present ax and threw it into stump near the edge of the circle.

She looked in lost in thought for a moment then said, "Toss me my your hat, no point in having to worry about losing them."

I took off the trapper's hat that had gotten from her at the end of the summer and tossed it over to her. She walked over and hung both of our hats on the handle of her ax. As she came back to her starting position she pulled out a hair-tie and pulled her hair back into a tail.

'Man she is looking so good.' I thought as she was now putting the tail into a loose braid, she then wrapped the braid around itself in a bun on the back before using a bandanna she pulled from somewhere to tie it in place. It was then I saw the mischievous glint in her eye. 'She has to have been planning this. How else would she have known to bring out the hair-tie and bandanna. Wait she planned this, oh man I'm in trouble.'

As she finished she spoke, "Alright, let's keep this civil and semi safe. So no intentional head or neck shots, no weapons, and no punches below the belt. Ok?"

"Sounds good to me," I said as I finished stretching out. I was glad I was wearing a pair of loose cargo pants as they will give me a little more flexibility, but I realized the black flannel shirt I had on may be a little restrictive so I tossed it off in favor of the a-shirt I had on under it. She had the same thought as her traditional green flannel had been tossed over by our hats.

"One more thing. We'll go for the best out of three falls. Falls will count when the one down does not rise on a One, " at that she took a pregnant pause before she continued "…Two count."

"Alright." I was trying to work out the butterflies that had begun to gather in my gut. I knew I should be focused on what I needed to do to win, but in the back of my mind I kept wondering where I was going to find a lamb suit in my size. Then I realized that this was the middle of October. Halloween is right around the door. It was with that realization I heard her say "…on three."

"One, two, three." She said and then she was moving.

She closed the gap between us almost faster than her count. I was just able to get my guard up in time to deflect a punch aimed for my right shoulder. Dropping down I attempted to sweep her feet out from under her but she jumped at just the right time. I used the momentum from the sweep to push myself up into a rising uppercut. I caught her in her breadbasket and knocked her backwards. Though she landed flat she continued to roll and was quickly back on her feet. As she came towards me again I decided to try the knee and snap kick combo I used to fell Bull last week, though this time I'd just aim for her shoulder. Once got in range I brought my knee up rapidly, but it seems she was expecting it. She caught my leg. She quickly slid her grip down towards my thigh. The next thing I knew she had brought her other arm up into the underside of my knee then with a twist and a falling motion, she had thrown me onto my back with enough force to knock the air out of me. After a two count she had the first fall.

As I was getting back up she was looking at me with a smile that also seemed to have a mixture of concern in it. I stood straight in order to try and alleviate her concern. Finally she spoke, "I guess I should have told you, you weren't the only on to have gotten some combat training. Last year during the family reunion Dad had a few too many expired ciders and accidently told a cousin, Jacque, about what had happened with 'Never Mind All That'. He's a MMA fighter when he's not working at the family logging camp."

"I hope, for their sakes, that Blubs and Durland didn't find out about your dad's slip up." I winced thinking about what would have happened to the two officers if they had tried to use their tasers on Manly Dan.

She smiled again at that thought before she continued, "Nah Mayor Tyler was there and so Dad got a special lenience over it. Anyways after Jacque verified what dad had told him with Marcus, he decided he would come down and see what all we had to deal with. After his first encounter with one of the forest denizens he decided he would help supplement Dad's training. I went along with it cause I figured it could never hurt to learn some new ways to protect your butt when we're out in the field. He has a fight this weekend and that's actually where my brothers are, Marcus drove them up to see it. I was invited but I knew I couldn't blow off movie night, especially after what I learned last week. I knew I had to find out just how good you've gotten."

"I thought I had noticed a difference in the way you've been fighting this past summer. I mean you took down that redneck cat-person we ran into back in June in record time." I said as I headed back towards my starting position.

"Oh, that had nothing to do with the training, he was just a pushover." she said as she got back to her starting spot. Turning to face me she asked, "Ready?"

After a quick roll of my neck I nodded my head and started the count, "One. Two. Three!"

This time I rushed out first and met her at the center of the ring. I ducked under a pair of cross punches and slid towards her side. I caught her with a quick jab on her hip and as she started to turn I dropped low and swept her feet out from under her. As soon as she had hit, I jumped on top of her and held her shoulders down for the two count. I quickly realized what I had done and where I currently was but for the life of me I couldn't move. I mean here I was on top of the girl I have been in love with for more than three years, with my face inches from hers staring into those pools of emerald, and I froze. What dad had said earlier was again floating through my brain.

"You ok Dip?" I heard Wendy ask through the haze of my thoughts. "You seem to be turning red. Do you need to catch your breath or something."

That was enough to snap me out of my haze. I hurriedly got up off of her and offered my hand to help her up. The Cheshire like smile on her face was one to behold. There was definite mirth in it, as well as a touch of something else I didn't recognize.

"I guess that was one way to get the fall. I mean it wasn't against the rules we had laid out, but Dip you know I only had to be down for a two count. That was closer to a twenty count." Her smile now held some visible mischief and there was a definite twinkle in her eyes. I am gonna have to be on my guard. "Well now we're tied. I hope you're ready for the final fall."

We both headed back to our respective starting points and before I could even collect my thoughts Wendy called out "One! Two! Three!" in rapid fashion.

As with the first fall she had covered the distance between us so fast that I barely registered it. I tried to bring up my guard but before I could she had the shoulders of my a-shirt firmly in her grip. I expected that she would attempt some kind of throw, but man I was wrong. She did pull me but instead of some type of toss, I was pulled so that our faces were mere millimeters from each other. Then she pressed her lips to mine. I don't know how long it lasted, it felt like forever but it also didn't feel like it was long enough. It felt like nirvana, even with dad and Mabel's voices in the background saying 'I told you so."

I felt her lips leave mine as I seemed to melt into the earth. I hadn't realized I was on the ground till I heard a voice say "One and two."

"Well it looks like I win," Wendy said as she sat down next to where I lay. Reaching down she pulled me into her embrace as she asked, "You ok there, man?"

"You kissed me." I said as I sat there cradled against her. "Why did you kiss me? It wasn't just to win the bet, was it?"

"No, that was just a bonus. I kissed you because I wanted to," Wendy said as she brushed a couple of strands of loose hair out of her face, "I've wanted to kiss you most of the summer."

"Then why didn't you say something," I asked as I sat up fully and turned towards her.

"At first I was denying it. I mean I'm the one who said I was too old for you and that I wanted to just be friends. I didn't want to seem like I had been just stringing you along or something like that." She said as she looked down at her hands, "And then once I decided that it probably wouldn't matter to you, I realized that you would be leaving at the end of summer and thought that it wouldn't be good for either of us to start anything then."

"But then we ended up staying. Heck we had that party celebrating the fact, why didn't you say something then?" I asked as I scooted closer to her.

"We were never able to be alone, believe me I tried. You spent so much time at the party with you family and I didn't want to intrude on that, I mean it was a party for all of you. And the one time I was able to get you alone on the roof, well Mabel found us less than a minute later. She had some sort of problem that you had to help with. You never told me what that was about anyways?" She asked as she moved closer.

"Well apparently you weren't the only one who was happy we were staying. Someone was able to get her alone and confessed to her. It threw her at first and she needed me as a sounding board as she figured out that she was ok with it." I said as I closed the distance between us. I reached out and took her hand.

"Ok, who? She hasn't been hanging out with any guys that I know of, mostly her girls. Especially Pacifica," She stopped there as she figured it out. With a smile she added. "Well good for them. You let me know if she doesn't treat Mabel right, I'll gladly have a talk with her."

I smiled with her on that one, "I will, but so far it seems to be the relationship Mabel has been looking for since we were twelve. It's definitely the longest. I have another question for you. We've had numerous study and movie sessions since then and usually we're alone through most of them. Why didn't you go for it during one of them?"

She looked like she was trying to figure out how to answer and Before she could I leaned in and kissed her. When we separated I said, "You know what, I really don't care. I'm just so happy that this is happening."

As I went in for another kiss, I definitely could get addicted to those, we heard, "WENDY, DINNER'S ALMOST READY. YOU AND YOUR BOYFRIEND NEED TO GET IN HERE AND WASH UP FIRST." She smiled at this and gave me a quick kiss. Yeah, I could get used to this.

We got up and dusted our selves off. As I grabbed my flannel I remembered that I had lost the bet. Still fearing that she may want me to perform the Lamby Dance, I almost didn't remind her. But that would be right, she did win. Not exactly by the books, but I am not complaining. As she handed me her trapper's cap I said, "So what do you want to ask me to do? You did win."

"Oh yeah, that." She said as she placed her ax in it's loop on the back of her belt. "Well in a way I already got it so we're good."

"Com'on, you won. Go ahead and make a request." I said as she placed an arm around me as we headed back to her house.

"Alright. If you really insist how about this," she said as I prepared for the worst, "Instead of our study night next week, how about you take me out for a date."

"Ok, I can definitely do that." And with that we left the path and headed in to eat.


	4. Date Night

Wednesday October 22, 2014

Pine Family Residence

"Com'on Dip, you can do this." I said to my self as I look over the plan I had to make my first date with Wendy a memorable one. In all honesty this should be easy. I've been planning dates with Wendy in my head since I was twelve. But this is different, we're actually going out. On an actual date. I've got a date with Wendy. "Oh my god, ohmygod, ohmygod."

I stood up and started pacing so that I wouldn't start freaking out again.

"You ok bro?" Mabel asked as she stuck her head into my doorway. "I heard you muttering 'Oh my god' all the way out in the hall. Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, I'm just freaking my self out over something." I said as I moved to try and slide my list into my back pocket. I still hadn't told my family about the date yet.

Mabel came on into my room and sat down on the edge of my bed. She looked around and said, "Come on Dip, I know I've been a little absorbed with my own issues. I mean things are going good for me and Paz, but that doesn't mean I can't tell when something is bugging you. Now it isn't anything too bad or you would be going to Grunkle Ford for advice."

"Nah, I learned awhile ago about trying to get this type of advice from either Grunkle." I said before I realized I may have said too much. Quickly I tried to remedy the situation by adding, "I mean their advice is usually the same for every instance, no matter what the variables are."

"Yeah, I can see that. You should have heard Grunkle Stan's advice when I told him about me and Paz." Mabel said as her face went red, it looked like she was remembering everything Stan told her. She seemed to blank out for a few seconds before she shook her head.

"Oh, yeah. I remember his advice from when we went on that road trip during that first summer." I smirked as I walked over, sat down next her, and tossed an arm over her shoulder. She placed one around me as well in a sorta sibling hug.

"Hoo boy, I remember that. Grenda and I were trying to hook you up with Candy. For a bit there I really thought you and Candy were gonna hit it off romantically. But apparently you had turned into some type of little gigolo because of his advice. And we all did that because we wanted to help you get over Wendy. And look how that turned out." Mabel was almost babbling as she said this apparently trying to work the earlier memories out of her thought processes. Suddenly her head spun towards me, "Wait-a-minute, this whole troubled mood started Saturday after your movie night and dinner with Wendy the night before. Did something happen. You two aren't fighting, cause there hasn't been any angry tension at school. In fact I would say that it is the opposite if anything, you two have been as thick as thieves. Thicker even."

Her face was scrunched up in what appeared to be joyful restraint. Suddenly it seemed she couldn't hold it no longer, "Oh. My. God. Have you two finally started dating."

That's my Mabel. She get's lost reading a basic mystery novel but you put any romance in her vicinity and she turns into a detective that would put Poirot to shame. Next thing I knew she had jumped up off of my bed. And she had my list in her hands. Some how she still was able to call upon those larcenous skills she had learned from Grunkle Stan. Looking over the list, she was shaking her head and "Tsking" out loud.

"Ok, Dip. What are you doing? You know that you, her, and lists don't work." She opened it up and looked over it before I tried to snatch it away. She quickly turned and took a step back out of my reach. "Hmm, there are a couple of ideas here that I may try on my next date with Paz, but they won't be good for a date with Wendy. I mean I really don't think she's one to be impressed by you taking her to The Club and how would you even go about taking her to Portland for dinner, bro?"

"I know, I know. That's what has been bugging me. You know I've never really done this before." I said as I hung my head before plopping backwards where I was sitting on my bed.

"Hmm, here's an idea that may work." Mabel said as she sat back down beside me and held up my list. She was pointing towards an item about three-quarters the down the page.

"You know what, that will work." I said as I pulled Mabel into a hug. "Thanks, Mabes."

"Glad to help, broseph." She said as she returned the hug.

Friday October 24, 2014

Before we left school I told Wendy that what she was wearing was fine for tonight and that I would see her in a couple of hours. When I got home I went straight to my room and grabbed a clean pair of jeans and a clean flannel. Once I was in the bathroom I shaved and hopped in the shower. My time on the track team had done more then helped my physique, it also helped teach me about the importance of bathing regularly.

After I shower I dressed quickly. Checking my phone I saw I still had some time to kill so I went ahead and did my calc homework. After I had checked it twice I headed downstairs.

"Well son, don't you look spiffy. Definitely better dressed than you normally do for your homework sessions. And do I detect a hint of cologne?" Dad smirked as I felt a flush come to my cheeks.

He got up from his chair and looked me up and down, "Hmm, I don't see your backpack. And Mabel told me that we shouldn't worry about you for dinner tonight. Let me guess, I was right. Wasn't I?"

"Yeah, you were. No movie or homework tonight, we're going out." I said as I opened the closet for my coat.

When I had my coat and turned back around Dad was there, "So did you ask her out like I suggested?"

"Well no," I said with the start of a grin.

"Oh, so she asked you?" he asked looking a little shocked.

"Wrong again, I lost a bet while we were sparring. The winner got to ask one request of the loser." I said as my grin grew as I remembered what happened.

"I see, you let her win." Dad said with a wink and a grin.

"Dad. If I had let her win, she probably wouldn't even be talking to me. Let alone going on a date with me." I said with a frown as I put my coat on. Seeing the confusion on his face I smiled and said, "Nah, we were tied at one fall each and it was nearly no holds barred. She got in close before I knew it, and instead of throwing me…"

I paused there as I got the biggest grin. I continued before he could ask me to, "she kissed me. I was in such heaven, she could have counted to twenty and I would have still been down."

Right then we heard a horn out front. It was followed Mabel bounding down the stairs and rushing right past dad and I. "Alright that's Pacifica. Well I'm heading out, probably won't be home for dinner. Hope you and mom have a romantic one dad. Have fun with Wends, Dip."

And then she was gone.

"Well that was sudden," Dad said as he turned from the door she had just left and looked back at me. He had a small look of concern as he asked, "I hope Pacifica isn't a bad influence on your sister. She isn't, is she?"

"Nothing to worry about there dad, heck if anything Mabel and I are the ones her parents consider the bad influences." I saw his look of concern go to one of confusion, "Before you ask, her parents were borderline obsessive control freaks. We helped her step out on her own and develop into the person she is today and not a little clone of her parents. They despised for most of our second summer after we helped her out. But then Mabel came up with a design for their mud-flap company, that 'contest' she won at the end of that summer, and profits from the sales of the design helped sweeten their disposition."

I saw that I was confusing him some, "You know, the 'contest' that she's getting those yearly royalty checks from."

"You mean she didn't win a contest?" Dad asked as he processed what I told him.

"Well she did but well, she was the only entrant in the contest. Pacifica set it up as a way for us to try and get on her parents good side. At the time we were her only real friends. She had plenty of hanger-on's but we were her first real friends. Since then she's become integrated with the rest of our friends."

"Man you guys are growing up on me," Dad said with a tear in his eye.

I was about to joke with him about it when American Hi Fi started playing out of my pocket. Once he caught the song dad just snickered. I answered it with, "Hey Wendy. Yeah. I be out in just a sec, I need to grab something first. Don't worry, I will."

I reached under the table mom has in the entrance way and pulled out a blanket I placed there this morning. I felt dad watching me so I said, "We might do a little stargazing, that's all."

"Alright, well here you go. Just in case you need it." Dad pulled a twenty out of his pocket.

As I went to accept it I noticed there was something held in the folded bill. I opened it up and started to protest, "Dad, it's only our first date. I…"

"Look, I know. I just would rather you have one and not need it, than need one and not have it. Stan told me he had the talk with you that first summer, so I won't worry about it too much. But I do worry, so I'd rather you were protected. Consider this a bit of trust, to both you and her. And if your mother finds it, I never saw it." After being solemn though that whole bit, dad cracked a smile with the last line.

I jokingly hit his shoulder, "Think she'll believe Stan gave it to me. Or Ford even."

"That should work." He said with a chuckle. But then he continued with a straight face, "But seriously, stay safe for both of your sakes. Now hurry up, she is waiting on you."

"Thanks dad," I said as I headed out of the front door.

When I got out to the Microbus I slid open the back door and tossed the blanket onto the seat behind mine. Then I hopped into the passenger seat and gave Wendy a quick kiss. "Sorry for the wait, dad was just gloating. He told me last week that I should ask you out cause he 'could tell that you were interested'."

"Well he wasn't wrong, was he?" she said with a snicker before she leaned over and gave me another kiss. When she leaned back she asked, "So what's the plan Dip? And what type of date are we going on that we may need a blanket? I mean it may not seem like it to some people, but this is only our first date."

"Oh, don't worry. The blanket is for if we decide to do some stargazing later." I explained. Then what she said sunk in, "Wait, we had people who thought we were already dating?"

"Yeah. Susan, Tyler (Tambry's frequent pics of us together on her blog probably didn't help there), Thompson, Nate, but not Lee surprisingly. Dad, but you knew that one already." She said with a smile as I shook my head remembering how Manly Dan called us to dinner last week. She started the engine and asked, "Well? Where are we going?"

"Ok. To start off, let's go somewhere to grab some food to eat on the run. Hermano's, Yumberjacks, Smokey Joe's, its up the you." I replied as I took her hand for a moment.

"Letting me decide where to eat on a date you planned, real romantic Dip." She said with a smile and a wink incase I couldn't catch her joking sarcasm.

"Oh, don't worry. The food isn't an important part of the date. It's just to fuel us before the real date. And dad is paying." I said with a smile as I pull out the twenty he gave me, forgetting what was folded in it. I looked on in shock as the foil package flopped down on the seat between us.

I was about to die of embarrassment, when Wendy burst out laughing. My face was as red as her hair and I was about to apologize when she reached over to opened the Microbuses' glove compartment. There was a box of them with a note that read 'Wendy, better safe than sorry. Dad'.

"I found them sitting on the seat when I got out to the Microbus. I guess we now know that we have our respective families blessing." Wendy said with a chuckle. She tossed the loose one into the glove compartment and I shut it.

We laughed about it as we headed towards Yumberjack's. After a pair of Hardtack specials were bought, I had Wendy head towards the outskirts of town. We found a lookout on the side of the road and I had her stop so we could eat. It was amazing sitting there eating while looking at one of the most gorgeous views Oregon has to offer. And the scenery wasn't bad either.

Getting back onto the road, she asked "So where are we heading? I mean so far this has been fun, but this doesn't seem like it is your plan."

I decided to finally let her know where we're heading. "Alright, up ahead we should be coming to the road leading to Sprout's."

"Aw, man. I should have figured it out. He's hosting the Autumn Festival this year isn't he?" She replied as her face lit up a bit as she thought of what all they could do.

"Yep. Hay rides, cider, candied apples, a bon fire, the whole nine yards. And then afterwards I thought we could go do some stargazing if we have time.

We spent most of the evening tooling around the festival. More than once we heard whispered or muttered a 'Finally' as we walked hand in hand. We were gawked at a bit by some of our classmates who were here either with their family or on dates of their own. Well I hadn't planned on us coming out as a couple this early, but you know what Que Sera, Sera.

"What in the world, Corduroy?" we heard coming from a group we had passed. We turned around and there was Jay Evans. If I remember right his dad works with Manly Dan. And Jay was almost as big as Manly Dan. The only reason he wasn't on the football team is he's dumber than a box of rocks, and that is an insult to the rocks.

"What do you want Jay?" Wendy asked, the smile she had just a moment ago gone. To anyone else she would appear to be practically frigid in her disinterest, but I could see through her veneer. She was upset that this guy had bothered us. I started to step forward but a subtle shake of her head stopped me.

"I wants ta know if when ya turned me down last week it was cuz ya were dating this shrimp?" he said as he waved a hand in my direction. Instinctively I clinched my fist. If he was gonna cause trouble on our date, Wendy wasn't gonna be the only one to fight him.

"Not yet, but I was getting ready to ask him." She said as she shot me a smile and squeezed my hand. Then she continued, "Do you have problem with that?"

"Oh no, I wuz worried that it had been cuz I ain't that smart." He said with a look of relief. He then continued, "I'm happy for tha two of youse. Dipper here is a great fella, last year he dun save my lil sis from a group a those lawn guys."

After that incident the date went off with no flaws. Wendy schooled me in the apple bobbing contest, we snuggled close during the hayride, fed each other smores at the bonfire, and finally ended up stopping on the way back to town to do some stargazing.

"I had a great time tonight, Dip." She said as we pulled up in front of my house.

"The same here, Wendy." I said as I leaned over and gave her a kiss. We just sat there leaning into each other. Finally I pulled away, "Would you, I mean I hope you would like to do this again."

She leaned back with a smile on her lips, "Oh course I would, Dip. Maybe we can go see the new Space Adventure movie opening next week."


	5. Flirting

July 18th, 2016

Mystery Shack

I was taking a shift behind the counter in a fit of nostalgia. We weren't really that busy today, but we did have some excitement. An honest to goodness celebrity (at least according to Mabel) had stopped in to speak to Ford. It was a husband and wife team of adventurers, his fourteen year old Asian American sister (gotta be adopted), and their eight year old daughter. You can see that the sister in law was an influence on her younger sister. The clothes, though different hues, were the same and not only did she have her tips frosted the same shade but she had a strip above her left dyed the color too. The little one was easy to tell that she was their daughter; strawberry blond hair, his freckles, & her smile. She had on a pair of overalls with a big pocket on the flap. I'd swear that I thought saw it moving when they walked back into the room.

Stan and Soos were both out leading tours. Mabel decided for once she was interested in Ford's 'nerd stuff', but she didn't fool anyone. She was in hero worshiping mode, heck they had barely made it in the door before she had ask the wife to autograph her grappling hook. I remember more than once in the past she said that Dip and I remind her of this couple. I didn't really see it, I mean I checked them out after Mabel said it the first time. They have their own website under her maiden name. With everything I found, the red hair is the only similarity. She and I are nothing that alike. I mean, hell, she was a flipping cheerleader when she was in high school. No thank you, running track was enough school spirit for me. And ok, I did represent the school the that lumberjack challenge last year.

Dipper volunteered to show the two girls around the displays. I'm proud of him, I know he would probably rather be with Ford discussing what ever they were here to discuss. But ever since Tambry had Stacey (and we were named her godparents), he has learned that sometimes you need to give parents a time to breathe. We have taken to watching Stacey once a week to give Tambry a night free. And when he saw the parents were a little leery of having their discussion around their daughter he stepped up. That was approximately a half hour ago so he should be back with them any time and well speak of the devil. Here he comes with the

"Thank you for showing me and my niece around the establishment." The fourteen year said as they walked back in from the tour area. She was holding the hand of her niece but her other arm was wrapped around Dipper's. In the short time she seems to have, oh no. I recognize that look.

"You are so knowledgeable. I bet you even know the difference between qi and other esoteric energies." She said with an attempt at batting her eyes. My lord, this kid is trying to flirt with Dipper.

"Well I have done some studies with my great uncle Ford about the subject. Last year we took a trip to India to speak with a swami who was reportedly 150 years old. And so far it looks like he was the real deal. His mastery of his qi was a factor in that long life." Dipper said with that cute little twinkle he get's when he is talking about the work we do with Ford.

"That is so interesting. India is such a beautiful country with a long Mystical history. I have been there a few times. You get to travel a lot with our family business. I have been to every continent and encountered many a mystery in our travels. I bet you have seen many things working with your illustrious Uncle." She said as he lead them around the displays near the gift shop.

Wait a minute, did she just try and sneak a peak at his butt. I really should go over there and give her a piece of my mind. But I want to see how long it takes him to realize he's being flirted with. I know my dork and I know I have nothing to worry about.

"She's really laying it on thick for him isn't she?" a voice from beside me said.

"Yeah, I'm not worried though. Dip only has eyes for me. Wait a minute…" I say before I realize that it couldn't be either of my normal commentary buddies, Mabel is still with Ford and them and we're talking about Dipper. When I turned my head I saw that the seven year old had left her aunt and wandered up to my side of the counter. The kid was good, I didn't even hear her climb up on the stool.

"That's good. Mom says Auntie is just trying too hard and the processy is too vogue. I don't get that last part , but its not my sitch." She said with a slightly confused smile. Then she stuck out her hand, "I'm Sean by the way."

"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Wendy.", I said as I shook her hand. Ok, now I know her pocket is moving.

"Oh yeah, and this is my naked mole rat Penelope." Sean said as furless rodent stuck it's head out of the pocket looking up at the little girl. It started chittering and I swear I heard it say 'Cheese'. Sean looked down at it and said, "I don't have anything on me Pennie, can you wait til we get to the car."

There was a little huff of frustration as Penelope crossed her little mole rat arms.

I pulled out a box of Chee-dar Chiprackers, "She can have a couple of these if she's allowed."

"Thank you," Sean said as she took three of them and handed one to Penelope. She chittered and again I thought I heard her say 'Thanks'.

Shaking my head, I looked up and saw that Dipper and Sean's aunt were now looking at the 'mermaid' display. She was rubbing his arm. My lord could she be any more obvious and could he be any more oblivious. Well it did take me flat out kissing him to get the hint that I was flirting with him back when we got together. Well I better get over there before she get's too much of a wrong idea.

"I'll be right back Sean," I say as I get up and start around the counter.

I get three steps away when the vending machine swings open and I hear "So you're telling us that you and your brother time traveled when you were 12? Fascinating."

"Booyah KP. I told you time travel was possible. I knew destroying that time monkey things was the probably a good idea. Who knows what Monkey Fist and the others would have done.." Sean's dad said as they left the hidden door. I had just about reached the door when he looked over at his sister, "Hana Stoppable, what do you think you are doing young lady?"

She quickly dropped Dipper's arm like it was a burning branch and backed away.

"Aunt Hana is gonna be in so much trouble," Sean said, suddenly beside me. "Mama and daddy asked her to be on her best behavior during this stop. They didn't want a repeat of the incident in Manhattan with the Long family, there was no way she could have known the boy was the daughter's boyfriend. For such a quiet and studious young lady she had fiery a temper. Or the one incident in Danville. That one cleared up pretty easy though. I'm guessing Dipper there is your boyfriend?"

"Yep, he's my dork." Wendy said as she watched Dipper as he realizes that Hana was being questioned about whether she had been hassling him too much, to which he responded that she had just been interested in the Shack's sights.

"So how come you didn't jell? You seem pretty chill for someone who just watched their boyfriend get flirted with." Sean commented as her Dad seemed to finally relent in his interrogation of her aunt.

"Well for one, Dipper is so oblivious I doubt he even knew your aunt was flirting with him. And two, even if he did, my dork is nothing if not loyal." I said with a smile as he looks at me and shrugs. "Anyways, I know he loves me. So I try to not worry about it when things like this happen."

"Very wise, he is one lucky man. Love without trust is no love at all. " Sean said as she smiled at the look Dipper was giving me.

It took a couple of seconds to register what she said. I had gotten lost in Dip's smile. Finally it hit me what she said, "Whoa, that was deep. Are you sure you're not a lil old lady in disguise?"

Sean thought about it for a moment and then said, "Well sensei does say I have an old soul. Oh, look your 'Dork' is coming this way."

Looking up I did see Dipper coming over. As he got close he said, "Hey there gorgeous."

"Hey yourself." I said with a smile and a quick kiss. As I pulled back I nodded towards where Hana was still being spoken to by her brother and his wife. And apparently Sean, when did she move? I never noticed she was gone. That girl is like a ninja. "You didn't get your new friend in trouble now, did you?"

Dipper looked over at them sheepishly, "No. She did it all by herself. Apparently she has been a real big flirt this year after some sort of prophesy from her extended family, something about 'encountering the Ivory Frocked Scholar' before her fifteenth birthday. Heck, I didn't even know she was flirting with me."

I smiled at how worried he was. it seemed he was thinking of taking the blame into himself for things he can't control, an old habit that still pops up every once in awhile. I decided to nip it in the bud before it started, "Never said you did dude. Heck I know a lot of guys, and a few gals, who would have loved to have had a cute girl flirting with them all day."

"Eh, didn't need it. I have you." Dipper said with a blush and a smile.

"Good answer," I said as I leaned in and gave him a longer kiss. We only broke it be cause we heard an apologetic cough.

"Hey guys, sorry to interrupt you. We know how it is to be young and in love." Sean's mom, Kim, said as she held hands with her husband, "But Hana has something she wants to say before we head out."

Hana shuffled her feet a little before she looked up at both Dipper and I. With a look of chagrin she said, "I'm sorry if I caused either of you any discomfort or embarrassment. I just am worried about the prophesy, I am supposed to meet the scholar before my birthday. That is in two weeks. You were an intelligent and charming young gentleman I thought might be him. Again I offer my apologies."

"No, apology necessary. We know how fun prophesies can be. Heck our first brush with a prophesy got screwed up because Great Uncle Ford corrected Grunkle Stan's grammar. Just take your time and relax. It will…" Dip was in the middle of saying when the front door opened and we were greeted by a southern drawl.

"Why Dipper, are you working today?" Gideon's voice carried from the doorway as he entered. He saw us as we turned to see what he wanted, "Oh, there y'all are."

Over the last few years Gideon had certainly cleaned up his act. He did try to be a regular kid for awhile but realized he missed not only preforming and the adulation that comes with it, but also the rush you get while dealing with the paranormal. Before the twins had came back for the next summer he approached Stan and Ford about helping out around the Shack (as an exhibit if needed, he does a pretty good turn as a fortune teller) and to help out with handling some of the research and what not. He's slimmed down a lot over the last couple of years thanks in part to Ford setting up a training regimen that Ghosteyes is tasked with seeing he follows.

"What are you doing here Gideon? You don't have a shift today and Ford doesn't have an expedition scheduled." I asked as he walked over to us.

"Well I was gonna see if Dipper could do lil ol' me a favor. I was asked to teach a line dancing class Friday night at the civic center and I was wondering Dipper could let Soos know I'm not gonna be able to work." He paused as he looked up and finally saw that we were with someone. He perked up when he saw Hana. Oh man, he's about to lay on the charm. He may be reformed, but he could still sell gasoline to a burning man. "Why Dipper, you didn't tell me that you have guests. Why don't you introduce me, especially to this enchanting flower."

Seeing Ron start to bristle, I guess he is used to seeing his sister doing the flirting and not the other way around. I was ready to step in when Dip said, "Gideon, first off if you want time off you need to ask Soos yourself. Secondly these are guests of Great Uncle Ford. Let me introduce Miss Kim Possible, her husband Ron Stoppable, their daughter Sean Stoppable, and his sister Hana Stoppable."

Dipper then turned back towards our guests, "And everyone, this is Gideon Gleeful. He runs the Shack's fortune telling booth."

"Why it's a right honor and a pleasure to meet you folks. If you're gonna be in town for awhile, might I suggest you come by the Gravity Falls Civic Center tomorrow night for some good ol' fashion fun."

"You know what. If I can talk my brother into it, we just might do that." Hana said as Ron looked on and Mabel (who had been uncharacteristically quiet) stood there in disbelief that some female seemed to actually fall for Gideon's sweet talking. I actually was a little surprised at it myself.

It wasn't too much later that everyone had went on their own ways and it was just me and Dipper manning the shop. Stan an Soos were still out with the final tours for the day, Ford was still in his lab researching whatever the Stoppables had came to him for (I'm sure Dip and I will find out soon), and Mabel had rushed off to tell Pacifica about her celeb encounter.

It was close to closing time so I asked, "You still coming over for dinner after work?"

"You better believe it. I wouldn't miss it for the world." He said as he leaned onto my shoulder as I placed my arm around his.

"Good, while it's cooking I'll work on teaching you how to tell if a girl is flirting with you." I said with a smile peck on the top of his head.

He leaned back, looked me in the eyes, and said "If she's not you, it won't matter." And then he pulled me into a kiss.


	6. Moving In Together

Monday June 12th, 2017

Mystery Shack

"Ok, would you be so kind as to tell me again why I'm covering you at the front counter. I mean why are you sitting out here waiting on Stu?" Gideon asked as he came out to the front porch of the Shack.

"Well, I'm waiting on a letter from Grandview University. Mom and dad were pushing for me to go to one of their alma maters but that would take me all way across the country. I rally want to stay near home and Grandview has an excellent Cryptography and Mythology departments." I say as I continue to watch the drive up to Shack.

"And what about you?" Gideon said as he turned towards Mabel.

"Nunya," Mabel said before taking a sip out of her can of Pitt.

"Oh, come on. You can tell lil ol' me, for old times sake." He said as he tried to ply his old charm. The problem is my sister and I are two of the people who have been able to see through his malarkey.

"You know what, I'll tell you why I'm out here if you tell us where you disappear to once a month. And don't give me that 'exchange' program excuse. I don't know of any exchange programs that last through the summer months." Mabel shot back, tired of Gideon's attempts to find out about her business. He had gotten over his crush on her a couple years ago, but he still is nosey about her life.

"Uhm, well I think I heard a customer. I better get back to the register." Gideon said as he quickly dodged the issue. One of these days I'm gonna have to look into that, I already would have but Grunkle Ford said to left him have a few secrets.

Once I was certain that he was gone I turned to my twin and asked, "So what are you actually waiting for?"

"Pacifica is having some paperwork delivered from her lawyer and I'm one of people she has authorized to be able to accept it for her. She can't have her parents know she's doing this." Mabel said as she went back to work on the sweater she was knitting. It was a little sweater for Stacey, and she has an applique of a cartoon heart talking on a phone that she is gonna add when she has it done. "Actually between the two of us we have nearly forty-eight percent bought and she has feelers out to get even more. At the next board… oh hey there's Stu."

I hopped up and met Stu as his truck made it into the lot. "How are you doing today, Stu?"

"Pretty good Dipper," he said in his low gravelly voice, that and his stout body and it's not that hard to see the family resemblance to his niece Grenda. Though he is definitely more hirsute than his sister and niece. Reaching into his bag he pulled out a stack of envelopes and handed them to me, "Here you go."

I glanced through them quickly and saw that none of them were from Grandview. Disappointed I turn and started to head in when Stu called, "Oh, hey Dipper. I have one more. It was in the large mail pile."

He was holding a nine by twelve manila envelope. I rushed back and took ahold it. When I saw it was from Grandview I ripped it open. With a cursory look I saw that it was the acceptance letter I was looking for and quickly reached up and pulled Stu into a hug.

"Well I take it that was good news." Stu remarked as I let him go.

"Yep, college acceptance letter. Thanks." I said before I turned and ran around towards the back of the Shack. Wendy was working on replacing the kitchen door from where someone had tied Waddles to the handle this morning. He was okay with it till a gnome ran by him with a bag of puffed cheese curds that Soos had 'thrown out'. Soos put out a second trash can and started tossing new cans of Wrinkle potato crisps, bags of puffed VegStix, and other non-perishable foods when he learned that some gnomes struggle most of the summer to build up a enough supplies to survive through winter. The old door is now part of the 'I Survived An Attack By A Wereboar' display along with a photo-shopped picture of Wendy's brother Kevin with Waddles head and front hooves.

I turned the corner and was struck by the scene before me. She was there in her tank top, with her flannel tied around her waist. She had her hair pulled back in a braid so that it wouldn't get in her face while she worked. Surrounding her was a group of tools she had borrowed from her dad when she heard what was needed. I was once again struck by how lucky I am that she had chose me. Snapping out of it I strode forward, "Wendy, it's here. I made it. This fall I'll be a freshman at Grandview University."

"Sweet." She said as she prepared to drill the hole into the door so that she would be able to put the handle and lock in. "I knew you could do it, I mean with your grades you could have gotten in anywhere you wanted. Now I know we've had this discussion before, but are you sure you didn't chose Grandview because I'm going there?"

"Nope, that is just an added benefit. I chose it because it has nationally ranked departments in both cryptography and mythology." I said as I braced the door as she pressed the hole saw against the frame, "Also since I got several base credits out of the way with my AP classes, there are a few elective courses I want to take that the combination of which is only offered there."

When she was done drilling, she put down the drill and looked at me. "Well now that I've got the obligatory 'Choose Your School For Yourself And Not For Someone Else' protest out of the way, congratulations."

She pulled me to her and pressed her lips to mine. When we came up for air she said, "We should go out to celebrate."

"Already ahead of you, there's a fairly new Vietnamese place in Schaal Lake that a customer told me about. It's an hour and a half drive to get there but the Banh Mi and the summer rolls are supposed to be worth it. I'll even drive, cause I know you've been working hard today." I said as she went back to work on the door.

"Sounds good to me. Pick me up around six, ok." She said followed by a quick a peck.

Later That Evening

After a shave and a shower I got dressed in jeans and grey flannel. I had made most of my preparations weeks ago and only had to call the restaurant earlier when I got home to make sure they would be open when we get to Schaal Lake. I made sure I had everything I needed and headed down to my Fjord Hauler. Even though it is nearly a decade old, it's a reliable little truck. As I prepared to leave, I shot out a few texts I one to Wendy to let her know I was on the way.

It didn't take long at all to get to Wendy's. She has been staying with her dad since spring session. Dan was having some trouble over the winter season, what with Wendy in college and Marcus getting married and moved out. Though he dotes on little Colin. If it wasn't for Mayor Tyler I think Manly Dan would have accidentally destroyed his house by now. He was over nearly every night cooking dinner and teaching the Kevin and Gus how to care for themselves now that Wendy wasn't there to do things for them. It wouldn't surprise me if the two of them follow Blubs and Durland's example soon. They really aren't hiding it that well.

When I pulled up Wendy was on the porch waiting on me. Since we were going out to eat she seems to have eschewed her hat and instead still had her hair in the braid from earlier. A fresh emerald flannel and some stone washed denim jeans completed her look. I reached over and opened the door as she walked up. She gave me a kiss as she got in. once she fastened her belt we were off.

During the trip we listened to some music and talked about some of the customers we had today, the music that was playing, Antonio and Stacey's antics, and what courses we planned on taking. That last one lead into talking about how the school's freshman housing regulations didn't require me to live in a dorm like so many movies make you believe just as we entered Schaal Lake. I turned down a side road that by all appearances lead away from the interstate and into town.

"I mean really if we wanted to we could just stay in Gravity Falls and drive to classes every day." Wendy said as we entered into a residential neighborhood.

"Lord no, if I wanted to have a two and a half hour commute I'd have stayed in California." I said as we neared a house with a 'For Rent' sign out in front of it. I stopped in front of it as I continued, "I mean take this house. From here we would have a maybe a half hour to forty-five minute drive to school and still be close enough to the falls that we could be there quickly if there is some sort trouble."

"Yeah and it would still far enough that dad couldn't expect me to drop everything if Tyler couldn't make it over for the night." Wendy added as she looked around the neighborhood.

"Let's take a look at it." I say shutting off the truck. Wendy seemed reluctant at first but when I open the door and gently took her hand she came with me. As we passed the sign I pointed out that it said 'Open House' and 'Hal Forrester Reality Inc.'.

"Maybe we can call for a tour, it says the realtor is based in Gravity Falls. But I can't say that I recognize the name." she said as we reached the front of the house.

Looking around we found all of the windows had their curtains closed. "Alright, I'm gonna look on this side to see if there are any windows where we can peek through the curtains. You check that side."

"You sure?" Wendy asked looking a little apprehensive.

"Ok, who are you what did you do to my Wendy?" I said with a smile so she would know I was kidding.

"Hey this could be serious, the neighbors could call the police on us and neither of us have a juvenile record to fall back behind." She said straight-faced before she started cracking up. "You're right dude. Anyone asks were prospective renters."

She gave me a kiss and then headed her way I started towards the other side but once I knew she had turned the corner I rushed out and grabbed the sign. Then back to the front door. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the key and let myself in, leaving the door cracked. Taking a quick look around I saw that everything was in order, so I headed to the to dining room for the next phase of my plan. I flash a thumbs up to the little red light shining from the bookshelf in the room.

I hear the door creak open with a call of "Dipper? Are you in here? Ok, man this isn't funny. Wait a minute, what is Mr. Panduck doing here? And that's one of my axes."

Her voice was getting closer and my nerves were beginning to falter. What if she doesn't like it. Oh man, get it together Pines.

Wendy then walked into the room, Mr. Panduck in one arm and her ax (not the one in the hall) in her other. And she looked ready for combat. Once she saw me and that I was ok she relaxed. Seeing that I said, "Well Wendy how do you like our little house?"

That seemed to shock her, "Our… our house? What are you talking about Dipper?"

"Well, we've been talking for a bit about moving in together once school started and on my last trip out to visit you I came across this house for sale and went through the whole spiel we went through outside by myself. When I talked it over with Grunkle Stan we decided to come check it out. After he finagled a better deal he ended up buying the house. And before you start, we are renting it from him. I hope you don't mind that I took the initiative and found us some where that fit a lot of our requirements." I said as I started to lose all of the bluster I had built up.

"Dip," Wendy started.

"Alright I know I should've waited. I should've asked you first. I shouldn't gotten your dad to help move stuff out here. He also checked the plumbing and fixtures. But it was mainly so he would know it was a two bedroom and I wouldn't be putting any type of pressure on you. And now there is pressure. I screwed up. The whole premise here is screwed up. And now I'm rambling. Why am I rambling? Why can't I stop?" I was saying till Wendy placed a finger on my lips hushing me immediately.

"It's ok man, calm down. While, Yes I would have liked to have been in on the decision, you did good here. So take a slow, deep breath." She said as she helped me calm down. "So dad knew about this huh? I guess that's why he told me to 'Don't worry about being out late' as I was heading out tonight."

She started looking around some, as she continued "You say it has two bedrooms? The living room looked comfortable enough for when we do movie night. The kitchen is a little cozy, but having this pass-through certainly makes up for it. The backyard is big enough that we could host a barbeque if we wanted. So yeah, you did good. But we make the rest of the decisions together, alright?"

While her back was towards me, I reached into my pocket and pulled out my second surprise of the night. When she turned back towards me I was down on one knee with a ring on a simple plaid cloth in my hand. "Sounds good to me, why don't we start with: Wendy Blerble Corduroy, will you marry me?"

She stood there stock still for almost a minute and I began to wonder if I screwed up, before she tackled me with tears in her eyes. "So is this a yes?"

"Yes, you idiot." She said before she pulled me into a searing kiss. Breaking it I placed the ring on her finger. As she was getting ready to plant another one on me both her phone and mine went off signaling that we had texts.

"Ok, I just got three texts. One from Tambry saying 'Congrats', another from Lee saying 'About time' and finally one from Nate that I 'Make an honest man out of you'." Wendy said looking a little perplexed.

Looking up from mine I read, "And I got 'Treat her right or else' from your dad, 'Mazel Tov' from Mabel and Pacifica, and the Stans send their love."

Still perplexed she asked, "How did they know?"

I pointed over towards the red light on the bookcase, "I was streaming. It was the only way to be able to do it with out Mabel being here and making a spectacle of it. Her first suggestion was to have the proposal written out in fireworks."

Wendy chuckled at that and then got up. She walked over to the light and pulling the camera up before saying "That's all folks. Shows over."

Then she followed the cord and turned the computer off when she reached it. She turned back towards me and said, "Now not to complain, but the original reason I thought we were coming out this way was to get some Vietnamese food and I'm hungry."

And as if she spoke it into existence there was a knock on the front door. As I passed her I said, "That's another good thing about living here, they deliver."


	7. Bedtime Story

June 21, 2024

Pines Residence

Dipper is seated on a folding chair he brought into his daughters room so he could tell a tale to his children and their twin cousins. "And then King Mermando of the ocean kingdom, Costa del Pacifico, sent a missive…"

Lil Debbie piped up, "That means itsa imporant letter."

"Ohh," the three younger boys say in almost unison.

"That's right Debbiekins," Dipper said as he ruffled his daughters hair "I guess being around Grunkle Ford has helped your vocabulary."

"Yeppers, and he helped me wif my butterflies." Debbie said as she was trying to fix what her dat did to her hair.

"Story!" Terry started chanting from his sleeping bag.

"Story!" His two cousins added.

"Alright guys, I get it." Dipper said as he raised his hands up in defeat, "now where was I, oh yeah the letter. Well in it King Mermando spoke of the fact that a group of his subjects were out on an excursion to a land in the north and had come into trouble. And so he asked that Lady Gwendolyn of the Woods and her companion Stoneworker travel to their last known location and to see if they would be able to help them."

"Course dey will, Lady Gwennie and Worker are the best." Ricky called out.

"An de in luv," Ed added.

"Aw, you always talk luv. Deyre fighters, not luvers." Ricky said as he shoved his brother.

"Richard, you be nice!" Debbie called from her bed as that one shove became a shoving match between her cousins.

"Do you two want me to continue?" Dipper said in a 'and I mean it ' voice.

Both boys quickly settled back into their sleeping bags, while Debbie had a smug 'I Told You So' look. Seeing they quit Dipper continued the story.

"M'lady this shall be a long trek, do you want me to prepare my wagon for the trip." Stoneworker asked as they went about gathering supplies for the trip.

"It would be best to take my carriage so we will have sleeping quarters if needed." The redheaded warrior said as she finished packing.

After a quick trip to see Stoneworker's uncle, the Inventor. He had some gadgets that may come in handy, though Lady Gwendolyn felt that the their own skills would be more than enough to handle whatever they come across.

They head out across the countryside towards the destination they were given in the missive. Their trek took three days and they spent the three nights in each other's company. On the fourth day they arrived at the location and began their search. It was a beach, but the weather was so cold neither of them wished to take a swim.

"Stoneworker, my trusted companion, it appears they were here recently." Lady Gwendolyn said as she was studying the tracks they discovered. "A day or two at the most. But they weren't alone. There are other tracks here. Heavy and larger than normal."

"From the looks of things the others are definitely bipedal and either they all are dragging a pack of some type, or they have a large tail." Stoneworker added as they continued their tracking. About a half hour into their tracking they happened upon the start on an inlet.

"There was a scuffle of some sort here. The water has taken most of the evidence, but there are some surefire marks in the cliff wall there." Gwendolyn said as she pointed out three large gouges the stone. Getting a closer look at them she added, "And these are fresh."

She pulled out her trusty ax that Stoneworker had endowed with runes of protection. Seeing this Stoneworker activated the enchantments in his own gloves. He still preferred to outwit his opponents, but was perfectly willing to fight his foes and these enchantments gave his punches an added jolt. And from what they found he may need it. There in front of a cavern they were too large to enter and despite there being snow on the ground, stood 4 crocodile Men.

"Wait a minute, Daddy. Great Grunkle Ford says that crocdiles are poikiro, poilikilo, coldblooded." Debbie said, breaking into the story. Then she asked, "How are they able to be moving if there's snow on the ground. They should be hypermating."

Dipper chuckled a little at his daughter's faux pas before responding, "Well, honey. First off I think you mean Hibernating, and secondly I was getting to that."

Stoneworker and Gwendolyn moved closer as watched the Croc-Men attempt to reach whatever had hidden in the small cave. They were dressed rather warmly, but even then the cold should have made them too lethargic to be moving. The cold northwestern, winter weather was no where near that of the warm southern swampland these critters usually call home. Then one turned to speak to it's fellows and we saw it. On his chest there was a glowing stone that seemed to radiate heat.

"They are too well entrenched. Martok take Merlok and find some fire wood. We'll either smoke them out or have smoked jerky when we get to them. Hahaha." The one who appeared to be in charge said to the one closest to him.

Gwendolyn signaled to Stoneworker to back out of the inlet. They quickly backed out and found a hiding place, once the Croc-men had passed Gwendolyn signaled to follow them. They stopped around another twenty yards or so and that was when our heroes struck. Gwendolyn tapped the taller of the two on it's shoulder and when it turned she hit it in the stomach with the flat of her ax. As it bent over she brought her knee up under it's jaw rocking it's head up and backwards. While this was happening the other Croc-Man turned to see what happened and was met by Stoneworker. Before he could react Stoneworker reached up and pulled the glowing stone off the Croc-Man. Though it glowed as if it was burning hot, Stoneworker found that he now felt as if he was standing in a warm summer day. The Croc-Man immediately felt the cold and dropped to his knees before falling in a deep sleep.

"That's what I thought would happen," Stoneworker said after the Croc-Man fell. Seeing a slightly confused look on Gwendolyn's beautiful face he added, "They're reptiles, they essentially hibernate in the cold weather."

They took time to bound their foes together with their hands tied behind the other's back so that they could share the stone. They also bound their feet and snouts separately. When they were certain these Croc-Men would not a hassle, they began heading back towards the inlet.

"Alright when we get there I will go for the leader, you take the smaller…" Gwendolyn was saying as they heard a scream.

"No, Somebody help me!" a young voice called from inside the inlet. As they turned the corner they saw The two Croc-Men holding a young bull seal between them. And the voice was coming from the seal. "I just want to get my sister some food, you guys have kept us in there for two days. Do what you want to me but first let me get her some fish. She is young and needs to eat."

"Tough luck, chiot. We're hungry enough dat it won't mattah ta us if she's skin n bones or not." The lead Croc-Man said.

"Yes, we be hungry too." The other Croc-Man added.

"No!" A smaller seal pup called as it rushed out of the cave.

"I knew grabin' one draw out da others. Grab her." The lead Croc-Man said as he pulled the seal he was holding out of his partner's grip.

Gwendolyn rushed towards the two Croc-Men intent on putting a stop to the scene before her, only to be outpaced by her younger partner.

"You need to pick on someone your own size!" Stoneworker said as he jumped and delivered a double closed fist to the top of the Croc-Man chasing the smaller seal. The force of his blow combined with the jolt of electricity his gloves held sent the cryptid to the ground. He then turns to the small pup, "It'll be ok. We here on the request of King Mermando."

Gwendolyn continued her rush and quickly brought her ax down across the wrist of the lead Croc-Man causing him to drop the seal pup. She then dropped low and swept his feet out from under him. Before he had a chance to try and rise up she was there with the blade of her ax blade at his throat.

"Give me a reason!" she said as she looked into his eyes.

"Brother!" the smaller seal pup called as it moved towards where the leader had dropped her brother.

"I am fine." The larger pup said as his sister made it to him, "Father, it is safe. We have envoys from King Mermando. They saved us."

At that there was a glow coming from the entrance to the cavern and it began to open further. When it was large enough that Stoneworker could walk into it, albeit crouched, out came a large bull seal and a medium sized seal cow.

"Greetings. Thank you for saving my family." The bull said as he moved towards his children. "I am Jestin, Canciller of my lord King Mermando, and this is my wife Lynneth. We were on a mission to open trade negotiations with the Artic Court when we encountered these brutes. I sent an attendant back to the capital and we hid ourselves in this cave."

"I am Lady Gwendolyn of the Woods and this is my consort Stoneworker." Gwendolyn said as Stoneworker was tying up the lead Croc-Man. When he was done she removed her ax from where it was sitting on it's neck. "We left the other two around the bend. We shall leave their fate up to you."

"And once the miscreants were gathered Jestin shrunk them down with the same magic he had used on the cave passageway and placed them and a small fish in a jar for transportation. They then bid our heroes adieu and returned to the sea and to their kindom." Dipper said as he finished up the story.

In a sleepy voice Terry asked, "But Daddy what happen to the bad guys."

"Well when Gwendolyn and Stoneworker were next invited to the court of King Mermando, they were granted knighthood and they found out that the Croc-Men were released on a small, secluded, swampy island as a prison." Dipper replied as he turned off the desk lamp, leaving a night light as the only illumination in the room.

As he went out into the hall he was met by his wife who gave him a quick kiss.

"So what story did tell them tonight? How Paz and Mabel took over Northwest Industries by becoming the majority stockholders or maybe Gwendolyn and Stoneworker at the haunted grocers?" Wendy asked as they headed towards their bedroom.

"Nah, I told them about the family of seals we, I mean, Lady Gwendolyn and Stoneworker saved for Mermando a couple of years ago." Dipper said as he entered their bedroom.

* * *

Better late than never, I figured my birthday would be the best day to finish off the final Wendip Week prompt.


End file.
